Sheet-feeding apparatus.



N0. 798,857. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. W. ZANDER. SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

2 HEBTSSHBET 1,

ATTORNEY A uil APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1904.

No. 798,857. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. W. ZANDER. SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1904 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F m h WITNESSES: 4 MK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\YILLIAM ZANDICR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO A. B. DICK COMPANY,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COHIOItA'IION OF ILLINOIS.

SHEET-FEEDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

Application filed November 29. 1904. Serial No 234,794.

To 01/ 1071 0711, it ntrty con/earn:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM Zaxnnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sheet-FeedingApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide means of a simple anddurable character for positively and reliably feedingsheets successivelyto a printing, duplicating, folding, or other machine.

A further object is to guard against the feeding of more than one sheetat a time and to preclude the choking of the ap 'iaratus through thetendency of a plurality of sheets to pass the feeding mechanism.

In carrying out the invention I employ, preferably, a combined feedingand separating roll coacting with the under side of a sheet pile, uponwhich a weight may be an ranged to bear with variable pressure. Incombination with such roll and weight I employ a paper-stop, preferablyinclined in the direction of travel of the sheets to be fed and thelower end whereof preferably extends below the level of the lowermostsheet of the pile, whereby only the lowermost sheet of the pile will beacted upon by the feed-roll to be advanced forwardly toward the printingor duplicating mechanism, the sheets above such lowermost sheet beingheld to await their turn by said paper-stop and being acted upon bythefeed-roll only after the first shall have been advanced, as aboveindicated. Obviously the feed-roll may operate continuously orintermittently, dependent upon whether or not the sheets are'to bespaced apart before reaching the mechanism by means whereof they arecarried to the printing or duplicating device.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which---- Figure 1 is a vertical section(partly in elevation) of a stencil-duplicating machine having myimproved sheet-feeding device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view ofa portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1, the stencil-carryingdrum being omitted. Fig. 3

is a central vertical section in which the feeding device hereof isshown as applied to a folding-machine, a slight modification being alsoshown with respect to the adjustable weight for applying pressure to thesheet pile; and Fig. 4: is a plan view of a portion of the mechanismillustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar letters denote correspondingparts, A designates a combined separator and feed-roll suitablysupportcd at either end and preferably provided with a fluted covering1/, of rubber or other elastic material, having outwardlyprojccting ribsu. thereon. The shaft of this roll is connected with any suitable sourceof power, and, if desired, a stop movement (not shown) of any commonconstruction may be employed, whereby intermittent movement may becommunicated to such shaft. As an example of such a movement I refer toUnited States Letters Patent No. HELQST, granted January 19, 190%.

B designates a f00ll-l)O2tl(l, here shown as detachably supported at itsforward end in the frame in which said feed-roll A is mounted. Saidfeed-board may be provided with side guides /1 for the purpose ofcentering the sheet pile C thereon.

I) designates a paperstop, preferably of a length substantiallycoextensive with the length of the feed-roll A and inclinedforwardly----/. 0., in the direction of travel of the sheets. Saidpaper-stop may be of any suitable material-such as metal, glass, orvulcanized tiber and is suitably supported at its upper end in the frameof the feeding device. In the present instance I. have shown a bar (Zforming part of the frame of the machine, and to this said paper-stop issecured in any suitable manneras, for instance, by means of screws (1,preferably carried in slots (1* whereby said paper-stop may be adjustedeither vertically -as, .for instance, by interposing washers -or towardor from the feedroll A. As will be seen, the lower end of the paper-stopl) terminates, preferably, below the original feed-line of the sheetpilc-/'. (a, (in the present instance,) below the highest point reachedby the periphery of the feedroll A, the purpose whereof will presentlybe explained.

E designates a presscr-bar which may be substantially coextensive inlength with the length of the feed-roll A or of the paper designed to befed thereby. The under surface thereof may, if desired, be provided witha facing of rubber or other material for the purpose of assuring contactwith the upper surface of the sheet pile. Said presser-bar is pivotedintermediate of its ends at e to an angular carrier 6, pivoted at 0 upona crossrod extending between the side members of the frame of themachine. It is also provided with a jaw a, coacting with a pin 0,whereby when said presser-bar and its carrier are swung upwardly toinoperative position they may be held in this position until replaced.For the purpose of varying the degree of pressure with which the bar Eshall bear upon the upper surface of the sheet pile I provide thecarrier thereof with an adjustable weight, and this is shown in Figs. 1and 2 as comprising a cylindrical weight a provided with a set-screw e,by means whereof said weight may be secured to the carrier 0 at anydesired position thereon.

In carrying out the invention for use in connection with astencil-duplicating machine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it iscontemplated that sheetpassing mechanism intermediate of the feedingdevice and the stencil-duplicating apparatus shall be employed, and thisis shown in the present instance as comprising sheet-passing roll F,gravity-rollf, guide-rolls f and f bed f, and guard said rolls f and fbeing, if desired, provided with beveled flanges f f" for the purpose ofcentering the sheets during their passage to the duplicating apparatus.

The operation of the device in connection with this form of mechanism isindicated quite clearly in the figures referred to. In arranging thesheet pile for feeding to said mechanism the presser-bar is raised andthe pile laid upon the feedboard B, itsforward end resting upon thefeed-roll A. Preferably the forward edge of the sheet pile will beplaced against the stop D; but this is not absolutely essential, as theoperation of the roller will move the same to that point even if it beinitially arranged rearward thereof. The presser-bar may then be placedin operative position gin which itis shownin Fig. 1)and the weight 6"thereof adjusted, if necessary, with regard to the particular characterof the sheets in the pile. The tendency of the presser-bar E isnaturally to depress the forward end of the sheet pile. The relationbetween the lower end of the paper-stop D and the ribs 0 upon thefeed-roll A is preferably such that after one of said ribs has passedsuch extreme lower end a very considerable space is left between thelatter and the next adjacent rib, due to which the forward end ofthelowermost sheet of the pile maybe readily moved clownward under theaction of such next adjacent rib until such forward end is carried belowthe extreme lower end of the paper-stop. Such lowermost sheet istherefore separated from the pile and positively grasped and carriedforward, the other ribs upon the feedroll coming successively intocoaction with such sheet and advancing it with a continuous and uniformmovement to the passing and gravity rolls F f. If a continuous movementbe transmitted to the roll A, the moment the end of the lowermost sheetpasses the point of coaction between such roll and the under side of thesheet pile the next sheet above will be acted upon by said roll, andimmediately upon the passage of the sheet first named below thepaper-stop the edge of such next sheet will be advanced in similarmanner, the feeding operation therefore being, like the movement of thefeed-roll A, continuous. If, on the other hand, the movement of the rollA be intermittent, (as shown, for instance, in the patent above referredto,) such roll may be so arranged as to come to a stop immediately aftercoaction with each sheet, so that the latter may be advanced to, or atleast in the direction of, the duplicating mechanism before the nextsheet on the under side of the pile is similarly acted upon.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown substantially the apparatus hereinabovedescribed applied, however, not to a duplicatingmachine, but to afolding-machine, and for the purpose of this illustration l havedisclosed in the drawings part of a folding mechanism similar to thatshown and described in a pending application, Serial No. 181,897. Theonly parts of said folding mechanism to which, for the purpose of thisillustration, reference is here necessary are the bed G, adapted toreceive the sheet pile, the separator-roll H, and passing-rolls I, theroll H preferably having, like the roll A, a ribbed periphery of rubberor other elasticmaterial. In this instance the paper-stop (indicated bythe reference-letter D in Figs. 1 and 2 and by the reference-letter L inFigs. 3 and 4) is secured upon a plate Z, formed integral with orsecured to an upwardly-extending spring-plate Z, secured in any suitablemanner to the framework of the folding-machine. The centrally-pivotedpresser-bar E of Figs. 1 and 2 is here reproduced in substantially thesame form in the centrally-pivoted presser-bar M, carried by cross-armm, secured to the ends of ways in m, which in turn are pivoted at m tothe upwardly extending members Z. Said presser-bar M, as shown in Fig.3, bears the same (close) relation to the pa per-stop L as thepresser-barEbearstothepaper-stopD. (Illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.) Thesliding weight 0 of said last-named figures is represented in Figs. 3and 4 by the sliding weight N, which coacts with the ways m, as clearlydescribed in the application last above referred to. If desired, theplate Zmay be provided with setscrews Z thus reproducing thecorresponding means shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for adjusting the paper-stoprelatively to the separatorroll H. Substantially the only change oraddition involved in the application of the sheet-feeding device of thisinvention to a folding-machine of the character herein suggested residesin the provision of a guard P, carried by or formed integral with thepaperstop II and the function whereof is to turn dmvnwardly theadvancing edge of a sheet for coaction with the passing-rolls I. Save inthe latter respect, the above statement as to the behavior of themechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and "2 applies with equal force to thebehavior of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. and I. The sheet pile islaid upon the bed (it. its forward edge resting upon the separator-rollI l and either against or adjacent to the stop L, which, like the stopI), is preferably inclined. The presser-lmr l\l is then applied and theweight N adjusted, if necessary, and movement (either continuous orintermittent) applied to the separator-roll II. The relation between thelower end of the paper-stop I1 and the periphery of the separator-rollll is substantially the same as that of the corresponding parts in themechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and the coaction of the sheetstherefore is also the same as that above described, substal'itially theonly difference being that after the lowermost sheet has been advancedsutliciently far to come into contact with the inclined paperguard I theforward edge thereof is turned downwardly toward the point of coactionof the passing-rolls I, so that after such sheet shall have been passedsutliciently far by the separator-roll I'l said sheet will be grasped bysaid passing-rolls and fed between the same to the folding mechanismbelow.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desireto secure byLetters Patent, is as follows:

1. In sheet-feedingapparatus, hecombination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact succes: sively with the sheets ofsaid pile, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below theplane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

2. In sheet-feeding apparatus. the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, and an inclined paper-stop the lower end whereof extendsbelow the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially asset forth.

3. In sheet-feeding apparatus, thecombination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, and an adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereof extendsbelow the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially asset forth.

st. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, and an inclined, adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereofextends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile,substantially as set forth.

In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially llOl'IZOI'ltill plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, a paperstop whose lower end terminates below the plane of thelowermost sheetof said pile, and means for passing a sheet from theunder side of said pile in a different plane from that in which it wasreceived therefrom, substantially as set forth.

6. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, a paperstop whose lower end terminates below the plane of thelowermost sheet of said pile, and a paper-guard adjacent to said stopand adapted to coact with a sheet fed past the same, substantially asset forth.

7. In sheetfeeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a. sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, said roll having longitudinal ribs, a paper-stop whose lowerend terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, andmeans for passing a sheet from the under side of said pile in adifferent plane from that in which it was received therefrom,substantially as set forth.

8. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets ofsaid pile, said roll having longitudinal ribs, a paper-stop whose lowerend terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, anda paperguard adjacent to said step and adapted to coact with a sheet fedpast the same, substantially as set forth.

9. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means forapplying pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed-rollunderlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, anda paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of thelowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

10. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means forapplying variable pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feedroll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward endthereof, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the planeof the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

11. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means forapplying pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed-rollunderlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, andan adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the planeof the lowermost sheet-of said pile, substantially as set forth.

12; In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means forapplying variable pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, afeed-roll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward endthereof, and an adjustable paperstop the lower end whereof extends belowthe plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as setforth.

13. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof terminatesin close proximity to said roll and at a point in advance of,

and lower than, the point of coaction between such roll and the underside of said sheet pile, substantially as set forth.

14. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll having a longitudinallyribbed periphery, and apaper-stop the lower end whereof terminates in close proximity to saidroll and at a point in advance of, and lower than, the point of coactionbetween such roll and the under side of said sheet pile, substantiallyas set forth.

15. In sheet-feeding apparatus,tl1e combination with a bed adapted tosupport a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of anunderlying feed-roll having a longitudinallyribbed periphery of elasticmaterial such as rubber, and a paper-stop the lower end whereofterminates in close proximity to said roll and at a point in advance of,and lower than, the point of coaction between such roll and the underside of said sheet pile, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 26th day of November,1904:.

WVILLIAM ZANDER.

Witnesses:

IV. 6". ARNOLD, IVILLIAM LANG.

